Sustainable Development

Sustainable development, according to the United Nations (United Nations Commission on Environment and Development / Brundtland Commission, 1987), is defined as 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' It is based on three inseparable dimensions of development activities: environmental protection, social inclusion, and economic growth.

In 2015, the United Nations proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals to guide the action of organizations and citizens worldwide in initiating measures for a more sustainable world by 2030.

Government legistlation, strategies and action plans 

• The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy: https://www.fsds-sfdd.ca/en
• Sustainable Development Act (Government of Quebec): https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/D-8.1.1
• Government Sustainable Development Strategy 2023-2028 (Government of Quebec) : https://www.quebec.ca/en/government/policies-orientations/sustainable-development/government-strategy
• Sustainable Development Action Plan 2023-2028 (Government of Quebec) (French only) : https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/adm/min/economie/publications-adm/plans-action/PL_developpement_durable_2023-2028_MEIE.pdf
• 2030 Plan for a Green Economy (Government of Quebec):  https://www.quebec.ca/en/government/policies-orientations/plan-green-economy
• Sustainable Mobility Policy – 2030 (Government of Quebec): https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/en/Pages/sustainable-mobility-policy.aspx
• Montreal Climate Plan: https://montreal.ca/en/articles/montreal-climate-plan-objective-carbon-neutral-2050-7613
• Strategy of the Master Plan for Waste Management in the Montreal Metropolitain Area (French only): https://portail-m4s.s3.montreal.ca/pdf/2020_montreal_zero_dechet_2020_2025.pdf

Studies and articles related to the sector

• Studies on the impact measurement of the Quebec start-up ecosystem: https://startupmontreal.com/en/home/

Funding

• Compétivert (French only): https://competivert.investquebec.com/
• Cycle capital: https://cyclecapital.com/en/
• Evol: https://www.evol.ca/en/
• Finance Montreal:  https://www.finance-montreal.com/en/sustainable-finance-initiatives-and-overview
• Fondaction: https://www.fondaction.com/english.php
• Fonds Ecoleader (French only): https://www.fondsecoleader.ca/
• Green Municipal Fund (for support organisations): https://greenmunicipalfund.ca/
• Fonds de Solidarité FTQ: https://www.fondsftq.com/en/business
• Thrive Platform for Women (bdc): https://www.bdc.ca/en/bdc-capital/venture-capital/funds/thrive-platform
• Environment and Climate Change Canada funding program : https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-funding.html

Standards

• ISO 14000 https://www.iso.org/standards/popular/iso-14000-family
• ISO 26000 https://www.iso.org/iso-26000-social-responsibility.html
• BNQ 21000 https://www.bnq.qc.ca/en/standardization/sustainable-development/bnq-21000.html

Support

• 2Degrés, incubator, environment and clean technologies: https://2degres.com/en/
• Quebec Center for Sustainable Development (French only) : https://cqdd.qc.ca/
• Center for Technological Transfer in Industrial Ecology (ccttéi) https://www.cttei.com/en/
• Quebec Council for Eco-friendly Events:  https://evenementecoresponsable.com/en/
• Coop Carbone: https://coopcarbone.coop/en/
• Esplanade (health accelerator, environment and climate change, food systems) https://esplanade.quebec/
• Sectoral Clusters
• AéroMontréal (Aérospatial) https://www.aeromontreal.ca/home.html
• AluQuébec (Aluminum) https://aluquebec.com/
• Quebec film and television Bureau (cinema and television) https://www.bctq.ca/
• CargoM (Logistic and transport) https://www.cargo-montreal.ca/en/
• Écotech Québec (Clean technologies) https://www.ecotechquebec.com/en/
• Finance Montréal (Financing services) https://www.finance-montreal.com/en/home
• mmode (Fashion) https://www.mmode.ca/
• Montréal InVivo (Life Sciences and Health Technologies) https://www.montreal-invivo.com/en/
• Numana (Informations and Communication technologies) https://numana.tech/en/
• Propulsion (Electric and Smart Transportation) https://propulsionquebec.com/en/

Trainings

• The Sustainable Finance and Climate Action Learning Network for Quebec SMEs (Finance Montréal) https://www.finance-montreal.com/en/education-network-for-quebec-smes

Commitments

• Montreal Declaration – Responsible AI https://montrealdeclaration-responsibleai.com/
• Statement by the financial center for a sustainable finance  https://www.finance-montreal.com/en/statement-by-the-financial-center
• The Intercluster Sustainable Development Action Plan

Others

• DEI Toolkit of the bdc : https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/dei  
• Interdisciplinary Research Center on the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (French only): https://cirodd.org
• ConVERTgence : https://www.ccmm.ca/fr/convertgence
• ÉCOSPHÈRE Fairs https://foireecosphere.org/en/
• Climate Partnership Montreal (French only) https://climatmontreal.com/le-partenariat-climat-montreal
• Startup Montréal https://startupmontreal.com/ressources/boite-a-outils-impact
• Synergie Québec (French only) https://synergiequebec.ca